GUIDELINES FOR USING EASE-OF-USE RATINGS PROGRAM
RATINGS IN ADVERTISING AND COMMUNICATIONS

To promote accurate characterization and comparison of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s ease of use rating results, the agency is releasing the following guidelines for manufacturers and advertising agencies.  The following guidelines are effective immediately and apply to advertisements in print, the Web, TV or radio, press releases, and other various consumer-facing marketing communications.

1. Advertisement must make it clear that it is an ease of use rating and not a safety performance rating. There should be no safety claim relating to the ease of use ratings.

2. Regarding an A-rating for NHTSA’s Ease of Use—an A rating in each of the five ease of use categories and an overall ease of use A rating must be achieved before the child restraint can be characterized as "receiving straight A’s in the government ease of use rating program." 

3. An overall A ease of use rating must be achieved before the child restraint can be characterized as "receiving the highest government ease of use rating."

4. Regarding an overall B or C ease of use rating, with at least one A ease of use rating among the five categories cannot show just the A rated category(ies) and claim that the seat is an A-rated seat. The overall rating must be shown if any individual category or group of categories is to be shown.

5. NHTSA discourages the use of language referring to "doubling," "tripling" or "quadrupling" of an ease of use rating as doing so implies the child seat scored a rating two, three or four times that of another equally rated child restraint, and therefore can be misleading to consumers.

   NHTSA also discourages the use of potentially misleading words such as "perfect" or "flawless" to describe the ease of use rating received by the child restraint.  More acceptable phrases to describe a child restraint receiving an A ease of use rating would include phrases such as "highest" or "maximum" ease of use or "top" ease of use rating.

6. Advertisements that competitively compare ease of use ratings of two or more child restraints can only be done if the child restraints being compared are the same type of child restraint (e.g., infant only, convertible, etc.).

7. Footnotes used by the agency to denote safety concerns experienced during ease of use ratings must be clearly stated and be prominently displayed directly beneath, or after, the ease of use rating in the body of the advertisement.  Footnoted safety concerns are not to be included as part of the disclaimer.  If NHTSA does not note the safety concern on its Ease of Use web site, then manufacturers do not have to place the safety concern in the main body of the advertisement.

8. Manufacturers who make a mid-model year running change to a child restraint and the child restraint subsequently undergoes an official NHTSA retest, the advertisement must include in the disclaimer that the revised ease of use rating applies only to child restraints manufactured on or after the date of the running change. 

9. The NHTSA logo may be used in an advertisement (print, web or TV) along with ease of use ratings (per guidelines #1-7 above), provided the logo is displayed in immediate proximity to the ease of use rating so as to indicate NHTSA’s association with the advertisement is limited to the ease of use rating and not to the contents of the entire advertisement.  Any advertisement using the NHTSA logo must be submitted in advance for approval per guideline #9 below.

   The following phrase(s) should appear in the disclaimer, as applicable:

    "Government ease of use ratings are part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) Ease of Use Ratings Program." 

   Since the logo will not be visible on radio, add, "For more detailed information regarding the Ease of Use Ratings Program, please visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s web site at www.nhtsa.gov".

   Vector based images of NHTSA’s logo are available for download by visiting ftp://ftp.nhtsa.dot.gov/AdSlicks/.  Click on the Logos folder.  Look for the Adobe Illustrator eps file named NHTSA.eps.  The logo is shown below and the preferred logo color is Pantone 287.

   

10. NHTSA is requesting that advertising materials using the NHTSA logo with NHTSA ease of use ratings meet the above guidelines and be submitted for a swift review by NHTSA’s Office of Communications and Consumer Information.  NHTSA anticipates a turnaround time of 1-2 business days.  Each individual, unique advertisement or spot that will incorporate the NHTSA logo with NHTSA ease of use ratings must be submitted for review.  For questions regarding these guidelines or to submit materials for review, please contact Darlene Curtin in NHTSA’s Office of Communications and Consumer Information.  Phone:  202-366-4793.  Email: darlene.curtin@nhtsa.dot.gov

    Preferred file formats are as follows:
    For print advertisements: screen resolution pdf’s.
    For radio spots: script in MS Word or text file format.
    For television spots: VHS, CD-ROM or electronic file (Media Player or QuickTime compatible).
    For Web advertisements: html or flash type file or link to an externally accessible website.